Lets just start this post off by saying, WOW! Sunday was a really fun day this past weekend! Lots got done, it was powerful, it was engaging, it was relaxing, refreshing, not overwhelming, beautiful.
Sunday morning started off with a wonderful time of worship and quiet time, followed by a Biblical study time - not intended, but I really enjoyed it. As I was reading though Mark 11 a couple questions came up and I wrote them down - I normally don't do this, and though I would like to more often, I struggle getting excited about hand writing. Via a Steven Furtick podcast (Highly Recommend this Pastor - pastor of Elevation Church) I learned that the word Bethlehem means "House of Bread", Bethel means "House of God", and, the first part of both of those, Beth- means "House of". So as I opened up to Mark 11 verse one and read the two names "Bethphage and Bethany" I was curious what they meant. I pulled up the Blue Letter Bible app (Highly Recommend this for Biblical Studies too!) and did some Googling and used Google Translate. I found that Bethphage means "house of unripe figs" (hmmm interesting). I found that some scholars (who lived in the time period of when this was written) say that the town of Bethany didn't exist after the time of the apostles. However there was a town by the name of Bethabara meaning "house of the ford, place of crossing." many versions of the New Testament use this as the site "beyond the Jordan" or "east of the Jordan". Some say Jesus was baptized by John in Bethany, however in The Book of Mormon, Bethabara is recorded as the place of Jesus' baptism. According to Google Translate, Bethabara is Greek for "In Bethany". Different ancient manuscripts, of the Gospel of John use either Bethabara or Bethany for where John was Baptizing (thanks to Google, Wikipedia, The Blue Letter Bible, and other resources).
Anyway, it was a fun study - I am not sure what to get from it yet, if anything. Then I had a great drive to church (Eastview) and got a good seat. Worship again was great. Then we moved into the fourth and final message on our series on Achan in Joshua 7. This weeks sermon was on Judgement. They posted on the screens and in the announcements, that if anyone hand any questions about God's Judgement and the why's and anything of that context, they can text it to the provided number as Pastor Mike was going to answer some in a live Q&A in the middle of the service. Pastor Mike brought a great message on Judgement, and then part way though he paused for a break and answered some of the questions that were sent in. I do not remember all the questions off the top of my head, and I only wrote one or two of them down, but I found it valuable and meaningful. After a handful of questions, Mike returned to the service on judgement. It was a really good service. Following the service Mike transitioned it into a time of worship, prayer, and communion. He invited people to come up for prayer and invited everyone to come up front for communion. This was unusual, as normally the trays are passed around. There were 4 or 5 stations up front and a handful of stations up on the balcony where the communion cups were at. I was glad that I sat closer to the front, for it did get a bit crowded upfront (between 2 big services and one small service, Eastview has around 6,000 people). But it did flow smoothly and surprisingly it didn't take too long. It was a very powerful time of worship, prayer and communion. The way that it was set up and they way that God moved was right to the heart and powerfully needed. It was also very humbling and a great reminder of what Christ did for us. From that the service ended.
On the way out I talked to a guy who was walking next to me. I also met his mom who was visiting from Indiana (I don't remember where though in Indiana). I mentioned that I have family in Fort Wayne, and found out they do as well. (I'm realizing the benefit, joy, power and beauty of doing what I didn't really do much at Koinonia, though Pastor Steve really pushed for: to meet someone new every Sunday). I felt that it wasn't time for me to leave yet. So I asked God who He wanted me to talk to. I went upstairs and a lady stuck out to me standing by one of the upstairs cafes (yeah this place has a handful of them). I went over and started talking to her. She just six months ago retired and is enjoying it. She use to be and Elementary teacher and a Librarian (I think - something with a library). Then I prayed for her and left. It was really good. I had a great drive home too.
When I got home, I went for a quick run with Amigo (our dog - a black lab). It was such a nice day, a bit breezy, but it felt good. I didn't go far - Amigo seemed sad that I turned around so early. I am out of shape. I enjoy running though. I also have had a high heart rate and I feel worn out quite quickly (this has been over the last month or so) and I noticed as I started to run that my right knee was hurting to run on, so I limped as I ran (my right knee has been increasingly bothering me. I told the doctor when I got X-Rays and the doctor came back and said my right knee is fine, but there was something irregular in my left femur. They want to have an MRI of it - which I will likely do in April).
After I got inside I put on a Steven Furtick Podcast (though I didn't pay high attention this time, and you will see why here) and sat down and played some Mario Kart on Jesse's Game Cube - Jesse and I had a lot of fun playing it on Saturday. Not long after, the Schlipf's got home from church and Jesse and Cristina joined me on Mario Kart. We were working on unlocking some new things - which we did get a few new things unlocked. Then Renee (my aunt) asked us to go outside after 30 minutes. Thus we did.
We messed around at first not know what to do. But after a bit, we settled on hitting a tennis ball, a foam ball, and a foam football with a baceball bat - we each had a bat and a ball. Not too long later Jesse turned it into the game 500 with a small solid bat and the foam football. We played that for quite a long while and it was a ton of fun - and a great day for it. It has been a while since I've had that much fun outdoors! Though on one of the turns, Cristina was it, with the bat and ball, and Jesse and I were trying to get it, I decided to prevent Jesse from getting it. I came up behind him and gave him a big hug and didn't let go. I had decided that when the ball was hit, I would go limp and weigh him down, for fun. He seemed to figure something like that would happen, because when the ball was hit he decided to just fall. As we both, in smiles and laughter, crumbled to the ground, I hit first and as he fell on top of me, one of his shoulders slammed into the left side of my chest. I felt a sharp pain both in the front by the ribs and in the back by the spine. It was fun though! Yes, since then, I've had a strong pain in that area, when I move, breathe, cough, plow my nose and all the other goodies. But we had fun! I am very thankful for that - Thank you Renee for asking us to go outside!
Once we came in we talked a bit and messed around a bit. Then I went downstairs and had a wonderful time with God, and then another wonderful time building. - To stimulate and reactivate my creative juices and love for spacial building (while not having money) I decided to use what I had to build something (this was a number of weeks ago - where I had used old copy paper and tape to build tubes and build with them. Since then since my tape ran out and it was expensive to get more, I found that I could get by with what I had. I still have a half a roll of the plastic wrap left from Christmas. So I used the plastic wrap as my tape, and it works great for the way I am using it. I did go to Wal-Mart and bought 1,000 more sheets of copy paper to keep that part supplied. Now I have invested about 1,500 sheets of copy paper into building material only using plastic wrap to hold them together.) I enjoy building with them, - though I would love to someday get another big tub of Legos or wooden blocks to build with! I got to spend some great time building. Then we, as a family, watched a movie called The or is it A (I'm not sure, but it is followed by) Question of Faith. Even though it was a bit cheesy and predictable, I found it a really good movie with good messages - I cried several times through it.
After the movie I tried to figure out what to do next. I spent some time talking, which I enjoyed, as usual. But I also felt a pull to go see Black Panther again - I've been wanting to see that for the past week again (I saw it in 3D with my dad last Sunday). I asked God about it and sought wisdom on it. I felt a peace and a freedom to go that night. I wanted to be wise since it was past 9 O'clock and I had to leave for work Monday morning at 10:00 AM. I knew that it was a half an hour drive to the theater each way and the movie was 2 hours and 15 minutes long. I looked online for places, prices and times. I found one that was an IMAX showing for $10 (as a Student) and it showed at 10:10 PM. I talked to both Bethany and Jesse about it and they advised against it. However I knew I wanted to go, and I felt such a freedom and peace about going that I went. I left knowing that God may end up taking me somewhere else and I won't watch it, but I had peace about going. I got to the theater quite a bit late, but thank goodness for the great amount of previews they show before hand, for I got there just as the finial preview was ending and the movie was about to start. There was at least several hundred seats in the room and I was probably one of the less than 5 people in the room - and it was a HUGE Screen. I enjoyed it yet again. On the way home I did some journaling too. I headed to bed around 2:00 AM this morning and I got up just before 8:00 AM. I had a great sleep (minus the occasional pains from rolling and moving the (what I am assuming is a) bruise from playing earlier). I couldn't even stay focused and fully awake for prayer, that is before I went up and had a creamy caramel cappuccino hot chocolate - that helped. I don't drink coffee much, but I have found an enjoyment for these - I've had two in the last week now. I was awake today during work so that worked, haha.
Sunday morning started off with a wonderful time of worship and quiet time, followed by a Biblical study time - not intended, but I really enjoyed it. As I was reading though Mark 11 a couple questions came up and I wrote them down - I normally don't do this, and though I would like to more often, I struggle getting excited about hand writing. Via a Steven Furtick podcast (Highly Recommend this Pastor - pastor of Elevation Church) I learned that the word Bethlehem means "House of Bread", Bethel means "House of God", and, the first part of both of those, Beth- means "House of". So as I opened up to Mark 11 verse one and read the two names "Bethphage and Bethany" I was curious what they meant. I pulled up the Blue Letter Bible app (Highly Recommend this for Biblical Studies too!) and did some Googling and used Google Translate. I found that Bethphage means "house of unripe figs" (hmmm interesting). I found that some scholars (who lived in the time period of when this was written) say that the town of Bethany didn't exist after the time of the apostles. However there was a town by the name of Bethabara meaning "house of the ford, place of crossing." many versions of the New Testament use this as the site "beyond the Jordan" or "east of the Jordan". Some say Jesus was baptized by John in Bethany, however in The Book of Mormon, Bethabara is recorded as the place of Jesus' baptism. According to Google Translate, Bethabara is Greek for "In Bethany". Different ancient manuscripts, of the Gospel of John use either Bethabara or Bethany for where John was Baptizing (thanks to Google, Wikipedia, The Blue Letter Bible, and other resources).
Anyway, it was a fun study - I am not sure what to get from it yet, if anything. Then I had a great drive to church (Eastview) and got a good seat. Worship again was great. Then we moved into the fourth and final message on our series on Achan in Joshua 7. This weeks sermon was on Judgement. They posted on the screens and in the announcements, that if anyone hand any questions about God's Judgement and the why's and anything of that context, they can text it to the provided number as Pastor Mike was going to answer some in a live Q&A in the middle of the service. Pastor Mike brought a great message on Judgement, and then part way though he paused for a break and answered some of the questions that were sent in. I do not remember all the questions off the top of my head, and I only wrote one or two of them down, but I found it valuable and meaningful. After a handful of questions, Mike returned to the service on judgement. It was a really good service. Following the service Mike transitioned it into a time of worship, prayer, and communion. He invited people to come up for prayer and invited everyone to come up front for communion. This was unusual, as normally the trays are passed around. There were 4 or 5 stations up front and a handful of stations up on the balcony where the communion cups were at. I was glad that I sat closer to the front, for it did get a bit crowded upfront (between 2 big services and one small service, Eastview has around 6,000 people). But it did flow smoothly and surprisingly it didn't take too long. It was a very powerful time of worship, prayer and communion. The way that it was set up and they way that God moved was right to the heart and powerfully needed. It was also very humbling and a great reminder of what Christ did for us. From that the service ended.
On the way out I talked to a guy who was walking next to me. I also met his mom who was visiting from Indiana (I don't remember where though in Indiana). I mentioned that I have family in Fort Wayne, and found out they do as well. (I'm realizing the benefit, joy, power and beauty of doing what I didn't really do much at Koinonia, though Pastor Steve really pushed for: to meet someone new every Sunday). I felt that it wasn't time for me to leave yet. So I asked God who He wanted me to talk to. I went upstairs and a lady stuck out to me standing by one of the upstairs cafes (yeah this place has a handful of them). I went over and started talking to her. She just six months ago retired and is enjoying it. She use to be and Elementary teacher and a Librarian (I think - something with a library). Then I prayed for her and left. It was really good. I had a great drive home too.
When I got home, I went for a quick run with Amigo (our dog - a black lab). It was such a nice day, a bit breezy, but it felt good. I didn't go far - Amigo seemed sad that I turned around so early. I am out of shape. I enjoy running though. I also have had a high heart rate and I feel worn out quite quickly (this has been over the last month or so) and I noticed as I started to run that my right knee was hurting to run on, so I limped as I ran (my right knee has been increasingly bothering me. I told the doctor when I got X-Rays and the doctor came back and said my right knee is fine, but there was something irregular in my left femur. They want to have an MRI of it - which I will likely do in April).
After I got inside I put on a Steven Furtick Podcast (though I didn't pay high attention this time, and you will see why here) and sat down and played some Mario Kart on Jesse's Game Cube - Jesse and I had a lot of fun playing it on Saturday. Not long after, the Schlipf's got home from church and Jesse and Cristina joined me on Mario Kart. We were working on unlocking some new things - which we did get a few new things unlocked. Then Renee (my aunt) asked us to go outside after 30 minutes. Thus we did.
We messed around at first not know what to do. But after a bit, we settled on hitting a tennis ball, a foam ball, and a foam football with a baceball bat - we each had a bat and a ball. Not too long later Jesse turned it into the game 500 with a small solid bat and the foam football. We played that for quite a long while and it was a ton of fun - and a great day for it. It has been a while since I've had that much fun outdoors! Though on one of the turns, Cristina was it, with the bat and ball, and Jesse and I were trying to get it, I decided to prevent Jesse from getting it. I came up behind him and gave him a big hug and didn't let go. I had decided that when the ball was hit, I would go limp and weigh him down, for fun. He seemed to figure something like that would happen, because when the ball was hit he decided to just fall. As we both, in smiles and laughter, crumbled to the ground, I hit first and as he fell on top of me, one of his shoulders slammed into the left side of my chest. I felt a sharp pain both in the front by the ribs and in the back by the spine. It was fun though! Yes, since then, I've had a strong pain in that area, when I move, breathe, cough, plow my nose and all the other goodies. But we had fun! I am very thankful for that - Thank you Renee for asking us to go outside!
Once we came in we talked a bit and messed around a bit. Then I went downstairs and had a wonderful time with God, and then another wonderful time building. - To stimulate and reactivate my creative juices and love for spacial building (while not having money) I decided to use what I had to build something (this was a number of weeks ago - where I had used old copy paper and tape to build tubes and build with them. Since then since my tape ran out and it was expensive to get more, I found that I could get by with what I had. I still have a half a roll of the plastic wrap left from Christmas. So I used the plastic wrap as my tape, and it works great for the way I am using it. I did go to Wal-Mart and bought 1,000 more sheets of copy paper to keep that part supplied. Now I have invested about 1,500 sheets of copy paper into building material only using plastic wrap to hold them together.) I enjoy building with them, - though I would love to someday get another big tub of Legos or wooden blocks to build with! I got to spend some great time building. Then we, as a family, watched a movie called The or is it A (I'm not sure, but it is followed by) Question of Faith. Even though it was a bit cheesy and predictable, I found it a really good movie with good messages - I cried several times through it.
After the movie I tried to figure out what to do next. I spent some time talking, which I enjoyed, as usual. But I also felt a pull to go see Black Panther again - I've been wanting to see that for the past week again (I saw it in 3D with my dad last Sunday). I asked God about it and sought wisdom on it. I felt a peace and a freedom to go that night. I wanted to be wise since it was past 9 O'clock and I had to leave for work Monday morning at 10:00 AM. I knew that it was a half an hour drive to the theater each way and the movie was 2 hours and 15 minutes long. I looked online for places, prices and times. I found one that was an IMAX showing for $10 (as a Student) and it showed at 10:10 PM. I talked to both Bethany and Jesse about it and they advised against it. However I knew I wanted to go, and I felt such a freedom and peace about going that I went. I left knowing that God may end up taking me somewhere else and I won't watch it, but I had peace about going. I got to the theater quite a bit late, but thank goodness for the great amount of previews they show before hand, for I got there just as the finial preview was ending and the movie was about to start. There was at least several hundred seats in the room and I was probably one of the less than 5 people in the room - and it was a HUGE Screen. I enjoyed it yet again. On the way home I did some journaling too. I headed to bed around 2:00 AM this morning and I got up just before 8:00 AM. I had a great sleep (minus the occasional pains from rolling and moving the (what I am assuming is a) bruise from playing earlier). I couldn't even stay focused and fully awake for prayer, that is before I went up and had a creamy caramel cappuccino hot chocolate - that helped. I don't drink coffee much, but I have found an enjoyment for these - I've had two in the last week now. I was awake today during work so that worked, haha.
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